The Guest
by usagichan1
Summary: Sumire must go out of town for a few days for an important meeting....but she cannot take Sakuno! Who does Sumire have in mind for Sakuno to stay with and why does Sakuno have a bad feeling that won't go away? adding a new chapter
1. Chapter 1

**The Guest**

Written by: me

Tenis no Oujisama: the one and only Konomi-sensei

**AN: **When writing this, I was taking a break from my other stories that I had started and am trying to finish. I toyed with the idea of what would happen if Sakuno was forced to stay at Ryoma's house and get the full effect of the Echizen family. More may come along. I just hope you enjoy this for now. BTW—I use Japanese in my stories and have loose translations at the bottom. Read and enjoy!! Doozo!!

* * *

Sakuno grabbed her bags out of Coach Ryuzaki's car and dragged her feet to stand by her grandmother. She could hear the doorbell ring and someone's footsteps from inside, causing her heart to skip a beat. She really didn't want to be standing there, in front of some stranger's door, waiting for them to invite her into stay. _Just two days_, she thought, _it'll only be for two days_. She kept her eyes focused on her feet; but as soon as the door opened, she lifted her gaze. Her anxiety began to fade as Sakuno looked at the calm, smiling face of the young lady standing there.

"Ryuzaki-san deshou ka?"

Coach Ryuzaki nodded. "This is my granddaughter, Sakuno, who will be staying with you for a few days."

"Irrasshai. I'm Nanako, please come in." Nanako smiled and bowed. She opened the door wider and motioned for them to come and step into the foyer. "Excuse me, I'll just go and get my uncle." She smiled at Sakuno, and then disappeared through a side doorway.

After Nanako left, Sakuno began to fidget again and that anxious feeling was starting to come back. She didn't really know why she felt like this, as if something was going to happen and she didn't know if it was a good premonition or a bad one.

"You'll be fine Sakuno." Coach Ryuzaki said reassuringly, "I wouldn't just leave you with anyone."

Sakuno nodded and barely squeaked out a reply. No sooner did she answer, a tall figure dressed in a black robe stepped out of the same doorway that Nanako disappeared through. He was a bit scruffy looking and wasn't wearing any socks or indoor slippers. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Either way, it didn't matter. The look on his face told Sakuno that he was not very happy.

"This is my granddaughter, Sakuno. Thank you for taking her in and letting her stay with your family for two days." Coach Ryuzaki introduced Sakuno to Nanjiro while trying to hide her smile. She could tell from his countenance that her mere presence was annoying him to no end. Sumire began to relish in the fact that she could still get under her former student's skin.

As soon as she heard her name, Sakuno gave an awkward bow and nervously looked away from the scowling monk standing before her. All she wanted to do now was run out the door and lock herself in her grandmother's car. She could feel the monk's stare and it was making her squirm. She knew that tugging on her skirt hem wasn't going to help her out of the situation, but she continued to tug as if it was going to save her life.

"Chk…" Nanjiro sniffed as his gaze settled on the fidgeting girl who seemed to be completely fascinated with her skirt. "With her, your family actually has hope, obaba." He let his eyes linger a little longer on Sakuno before turning his focus back to Coach Ryuzaki. He was not in the mood to deal with this old woman, but once he saw her granddaughter, he thought that this wouldn't be too bad. "She is welcome here."

"Good. I'm glad I saw young Nanako here and I know your wife will be thrilled to have another level-headed female in the house." Sumire smirked.

"NANIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!" Nanjiro yelled.

That creeping, anxious, slightly nauseating feeling washed over Sakuno. Whatever her grandmother and this deranged, angry, and slightly creepy man were talking about was of no concern to her. It didn't matter anyway because she couldn't hear them. Her head was spinning. Maybe if she fainted, her grandmother would change her mind about going out of town for the next two days and take her home. She could hear the crazy man's voice get louder and louder as he continued to talk to her grandmother. She couldn't even tell what he was yelling about and her grandmother seemed so calm and just stood there with a smug grin on her face. Was her grandmother really going to leave her here with this man? How cruel could her grandmother be?

In the midst of the chaos down in the foyer, a door upstairs opened up and a voice called out: "You're too loud, Oyaji."

Sakuno froze. All fidgeting, all squirming, all movement of her person came to a sudden and frightful halt. The anxious, creeping, nauseating feeling went away; only to be replaced by a foreboding sense of doom. _That voice wasn't really…it couldn't be…it wasn't really…_

Nanjiro watched as in a split second he heard his son's voice, the blood drained from the girl's face. A light bulb seemed to go off in his head as he suddenly remembered that he had seen her before. A malicious grin spread across his face. _These two days are going to be fun!!_

"Nee, Shonen! Stop being rude and come downstairs to greet our guest!!"

Grumbling could be heard from the open door upstairs, then footsteps. Soon, Ryoma was halfway down the stairs. Sakuno let out a loud gasp and exclaimed, "Ryoma-kun!"

Ryoma halted in his tracks and stared at Sakuno. His eyes were as big as saucers. "You're the one staying HERE??"

"Now, now, Shonen. Is that anyway to welcome the person who will be staying with us for a few days?"

* * *

**AN:** Here are a few translations of the Japanese used in my story:

"Ryuzaki-san deshou ka?" roughly "Ryuzaki-san, right?"  
"Irrasshai" welcome  
"obaba" old biddy (my translation)  
"NANIIIII!!!" "WHAAAAAT!!!"

Hope you liked it. This was kinda intended to be a oneshot, but it does have some potential into becoming a bit longer. I'm not sure though, because I still have some more stories that I would like to upload and also finish. Thank you so much for reading my story. niku niku


	2. Chapter 2

**The Guest – Chapter 2**

Written by: me  
Tenis no Oujisama: written by the one and only Konomi-sensei

**AN: **I know it's short…..forgive me, but I wanted to put something up. Hopefully, the next chapter will be much longer…..they still have to go to school.

note: _italics _denotes thought

* * *

_Tomo-chan is going to kill me!!_

That was all Sakuno could think about as she sat on a chair in the sitting room. She was still in shock. Her own grandmother making her stay at Echizen's household for two days was unfathomable. Not to mention completely embarrassing. Dinner was a fumbling disaster. How could she eat with Ryoma sitting right across from her and his own father making remarks that made her face remain a nice shade of crimson. And now, of all things, it was bath time. How was she going to take a bath in the same bathtub that Ryoma uses?

Sakuno closed her eyes. She could just hear Tomo-chan yelling at her for sleeping with Ryoma…okay, she wouldn't really be sleeping with Ryoma, but this was close enough. She was under the same roof. And she'll have to use the same bathroom.

"The bathroom is free now!" Nanako called out from upstairs.

Sakuno sat as still as she could. Maybe if she didn't move they would forget that she was there. She sucked in her breath. Not one sound, not one motion.

Ryoma sighed and started to get out of his chair, only to be met with a magazine in his face. "Ne, Shonen, shouldn't you let your guest go first? That would be the polite thing to do…or…" Nanjiro giggled behind his newspaper "did you want to take a bath together?"

Repulsed and slightly pink, Ryoma knocked the magazine away from his face and plopped down on the floor. He crossed his arms and mumbled something that neither Sakuno nor Nanjiro could understand. He turned his head over his shoulder and looked at Sakuno. She was sitting in the chair, barely taking up any space. And her face was still the same color as it was at dinner.

"You can go first." He said quickly then turned his head back to the television.

Sakuno jumped out of her seat. _So much for trying to be still_, she thought as she bowed to Ryoma and Nanjiro and quickly ran upstairs before anyone could say anything. She fell on all fours when she reached Nanako's room trying to catch her breath. Maybe going first was a good thing. She would be in the bathtub before Ryoma. She quickly gathered up her toiletries and headed towards the bathroom, only to find herself tripping over something and almost falling on her face.

"M---oaw!!"

Sakuno turned and looked at what she fell on. It was nice, soft, and furry.

"Ah, neko-chan!! Gomen!!" Sakuno quickly said as she scurried to the bathroom, leaving Karupin there in the hallway, licking his fur.

Sakuno washed up as fast as she could, then jumped into the tub. The water was still nice and warm. She sank down until the water reached up to her chin. She could let herself relax for just a little bit. No need to be on her toes in the bathroom. She even unbraided her hair and put it in a bun after she washed it.

Her mind raced through the events of the day, when she was in the car thinking that her grandmother was just going to take her by Tomo-chan's house. She could handle her parents going out of town, it was something that she had to deal with on a regular basis; but, having her grandmother leave at the same time was too much. And to not even know where she was going to stay when her grandmother went the opposite way of Tomo's house was the icing on the cake.

Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she would ever stay in the same place, let alone sleep under the same roof as Ryoma-kun. She tried her best not to think of that, but it kept creeping up in her thoughts. At least Nanako-san was here. But even though she was sleeping in Nanako's room, the next door down was Ryoma's. Sakuno blushed and shook her head.

Her eyes shot open as she realized that she wasn't the only one who needed to use the bathroom. It would be completely rude of her to use up all the hot water, even though she was the guest. She quickly stepped out of the tub and wrapped the towel around her slim frame. As she gathered up her things she heard a slight, muffled sound at the door.

"Asoko wa nani?" she whispered as she looked toward the door. Her back stiffened as she heard the sound again.

"MAOOOW!!"

Sakuno let out a small sigh. It was the cat that she accidentally tripped over in her hurry to get to the bathroom. _I bet that's Nanako-san's cat, _she thought as she stood up and went over to the door. She opened the door to see the cat being lifted up into the arms of Ryoma.

"Karupin, don't stand in front of the bathroom doo……" he stopped suddenly as he noticed the horrified stare of the wide-eyed girl wrapped in a white towel. A soft floral scent wafted from the bathroom.

Sakuno let out a high pitched yelp and quickly shut the door. She fell to her knees as her hands tightly gripped the only thing that shielded her nakedness from the world. As if on cue, the tears welled up in her eyes. He saw her in her towel and nothing more. How she wished that she was back home in her own house!!

Ryoma continued to stare at the bathroom door. Karupin quickly leaped from his arms and began to paw even more frantically at the door as if he was trying to get at something. A figure downstairs moved from the staircase back into the t.v. room and sat down, not even bothering to wipe the smirk from his face.

* * *

**AN:** Sorry it's taken me so long to add a new chapter….especially after the events that have happened the past two weeks. I have ideas, but it'll take time to get them down on paper (or on the computer, whichever comes first). Hope you enjoy and continue to pray for the students at Virginia Tech as they try to move on. 


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** (trumpets sounding) YAY!!! I finally got a chance to update and write another chapter!! I'm very excited because it's been a while since I've been able to even type things out. Everything was on different pieces of paper and trying to type it all together was enough to tear my hair out!! Anyway, I hope you like it! I have a whole bunch of other ideas coming…..but first I have to find the page I wrote it down on :P tee hee! I'm such a scatterbrain! Enjoy! niku niku!!

Another note: In the story I changed my mind and decided that I wanted it to be summer vacation instead of them going school.

_Italics _denotes thought

* * *

**The Guest**  
**Chapter 3**

Sakuno opened one eye before she poked her head out from under the covers. Nanako had just left the room. She could hear the soft footsteps heading downstairs towards what she assumed was the kitchen. Seeing that the coast was clear, Sakuno sat up and stretched. There wasn't a real reason she didn't want Nanako to know that she was awake, but Sakuno felt better that there was no one else in the room. She didn't want anyone to talk about what happened last night. She suddenly shuddered and blushed at the thought of what had happened after her bath.

The birds chirped gaily outside the window as the warm rays of the sun filtered into the room. It looked as if it was going to be a beautiful day today. Sakuno wondered if she could possibly spend the entire day somewhere else besides this house. _But where would I go all day?_ She thought. She could spend the day window shopping down in Roppoingi, but even she knew she could only take that place and the crowds for a short period of time. A movie sounded nice, but there wasn't anything that she would have wanted to watch, at least not by herself. Sakuno stared vacantly out the window as she thought. There wasn't anything that she could think of and she knew she couldn't stay in this room all day….or could she?

It was summer break, and her teachers did assign more homework for them to do. She could use that as an excuse since she hadn't started on it yet, but…Sakuno had promised Tomoka that they would meet and work on it together. It was better to work with someone than do all the homework alone. As she continued to ponder, a noise from outside the door made her freeze. She wanted to dive back under the covers, but her body wouldn't move.

A door opened, then quickly shut and the sound of water could be heard. _He_ was awake. There was certainly no way now that Sakuno was going to leave the room today. Any plans of venturing out the house were shattered at that moment. The water turned off and the sound of a door opening could be heard again. There was a small meow of a cat and then the familiar sound of footsteps going down the stairs. Sakuno slowly let out a breath. She wasn't aware that she had also stopped breathing. In the back of her head she knew that Ryoma wouldn't have done anything like that on purpose, yet, that didn't help ease the embarrassment she still felt. Her body had soon regained motion and as fast as she could, she crawled back under the covers.

* * *

"Can't we at least have a traditional Japanese breakfast just once in this house?" Ryoma sighed as he held up a piece of sausage and looked at it with disdain. 

"I have so much fun making western style food." Nanako answered as she placed a sunny-side up egg on Ryoma's plate. "Besides, I promised your mother that I would make sure you and Sakuno were eating properly."

"Hmmph, you just broke your promise." Ryoma said as he pushed his chair away from the table and stood up.

"Sit down and eat, Shounen. You're gonna need that energy today."

Ryoma and Nanako turned around to see Nanjiro sitting on the open porch reading a newspaper. Or so it seemed. He looked up and motioned to the table with his chin.

"Nanako didn't just cook for the hell of it. Sit and eat."

Ryoma muttered something under his breath as he sat down and picked up his fork. Every morning it was the same thing for breakfast. Just once all he wanted was some miso soup and maybe some fish and rice. Was that too much to ask for?

"Where is our cute little guest?"

"I left her to sleep in my room. She must have been really tired."

"Mmmmmm. She sleeps more than our little lazy Shounen over there."

Ryoma shot his father an evil look. Nanjiro didn't have to take his eyes away from his paper to know that he had successfully gotten on his son's nerves. It was fun picking on him this early in the morning. Actually, it didn't matter what time of the day it was, picking on Ryoma was just fun period. To hide his ear-to-ear grin, Nanjiro brought the paper closer to his face.

"Maybe someone should wake her up to let her know that breakfast is ready." Nanako suggested as she placed another egg on a plate and handed it to her uncle.

"Ryoma can go wake her up."

"You told me to sit down and eat."

"It's rude to eat without inviting your guest to come down and join you."

"She's not my guest."

"Ahh, is that so. Well then, I guess its okay for you to invite yourself into the bathroom with her, but you can't invite her to come join you for breakfast?" Nanjiro finally put down the paper and looked at his son, only to be met by Ryoma's glare.

Without anymore words, Ryoma pushed his chair back and headed up the stairs. Nanjiro smiled victoriously and returned back to his paper just in time to see Nanako snatch the magazine from him.

"NANIII!!!!"

"Really, Uncle. And with a guest here."

* * *

KNOCK KNOCK 

Sakuno froze.

KNOCK KNOCK

Was she supposed to answer? _Maybe_ _I should pretend to be asleep again?_ She wondered as she heard the knocking again. Why were they bothering her? Couldn't they just leave her alone for one day? Sakuno pulled the covers back over her head.

"Ryuzaki? Oi, Ryuzaki? Are you hungry?" the voice called from the other side of the door.

The growl from her stomach reminded her that she had not eaten anything since dinner and it wasn't much what she had eaten. Breakfast wasn't that important if it meant eating downstairs with Ryoma-kun and facing everyone else. She closed her eyes and tried to fight the rumblings in her tummy.

"Ryuzaki? Are you awake?"

Sakuno shut her eyes even tighter, as if that would make her disappear completely. Hopefully he'll leave if she made no noise, didn't move, and couldn't see anything. But to her surprise and horror, she could hear the doorknob turn and a tiny creak of the door. Without thinking her body shot straight up to try to slam the door back, but it was too late. The door swung open and she stood there, in her nightgown, facing Ryoma.

"There's food downstairs." Ryoma said hurriedly and closed the door just as quickly as he opened it.

All she could do was stand there with her eyes and mouth wide open. _Hazukashii na!!!_ She thought as her hands immediately flew up to the top of her head. Her hair was mussed and flattened with strands sticking out here and there. He had seen her again, but this time she was clothed and she looked completely horrible. She let out a little sniffle as she gathered her things and went into the bathroom. It was too late to make excuses and stay in the room all day. And she had just lost the battle with her stomach as it let out one last loud rumble to let her know that it wasn't going to be ignored.

* * *

"Are you hungry Sakuno-chan? Do you like eggs?" 

Nanako smiled as she handed Sakuno her plate. Sakuno politely bowed her head and sat down at the table as far away from Ryoma as she could. She lifted her eyes from her plate and quickly glanced at Ryoma then Nanako. _They're acting pretty normal. Maybe there isn't anything to worry about._ She was snapped back to reality when she felt a soft, furry body brushing up against her legs and soft meowing. Sakuno smiled as she saw Karupin sit on his hind legs and put his paws on her chair.

"Ohayo gozaimasu Neko-chan."

"Don't feed him anything." Ryoma's voice came from across the table.

"Ahh…um, hai." Sakuno was taken aback, but soon nodded, then looked down at Karupin. "Gomen nasai, Neko-chan."

Karupin sniffed the air one last time before turning around and sauntering towards the door. He looked back to let out one more pitiful meow and walked out the kitchen. Sakuno turned her focus back to her food. She really wanted to give him something.

"Ryoma, did you remember to put food in his bowl?" Nanako asked.

"Mmm."

"Is the kitty yours, Nanako Onee-san?"

Nanako let out a small chuckle. She shook her head and pointed at Ryoma. Only Sakuno's eyes moved to follow where Nanako's fingers were pointing. That couldn't be true. _It was Ryoma's cat that was trying to get into the bathroom?_ As if on cue, Sakuno's cheeks flushed bright red. _Is that the sort of thing that Ryoma trains his cat to do?_

Ryoma looked up from his plate at Sakuno. This was the second time she blushed at the table. She did the same thing last night as well. He shrugged his shoulders and finished his glass of milk.

"Ah, there is our esteemed guest. Good morning young lady. Did you sleep well?"

Nanjiro stood in the doorway looking at the three standing in the kitchen. He had been watching from the shadows and was a bit disappointed. Nothing was going on between her and his slow son. No talk about what had happened last night. He smirked as he thought about what did happen the night before. It's a wonder what a little bit of tuna juice could do.

Sakuno silently nodded her head, which was still focused on the plate in front of her. She hadn't had a chance to touch her food. She was hungry, but she wasn't really too sure about the food on the plate. And besides, it was hard to eat when feeling a little embarrassed.

"Good, good. We wouldn't want your guest to be uncomfortable in any way, ne, shounen?"

Ryoma turned his head and murmured, "she's not my guest."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Nanjiro wanted to hit his son in the head. _Baka, you don't say things like that in front of a girl to make her feel bad. _At that moment, a thought quickly flashed in his mind and disappeared, _if he is really this clueless about girls, could he really be my son? _Nanjiro shook his head and an evil smirk spread across his face.

"Nee, shonen, there are some things I need for you to do for me today."

"I'm busy."

"Yeah, well, see that's the problem too, I'm busy as well and need these things done today; so, since the father cannot do it (that's me) then the dutiful son (that's you) will have to fill in for me. You wouldn't want the family name tarnished now would you?"

Nonchalantly, Ryoma shrugged his shoulders. He knew that whatever needed to be done today should have been done a few days ago, knowing his father. He was not going to waste a good practice day running around for his dad.

"Weeeelllll, since you don't care, I was going to be in the mood to play tennis later on today, but since I'll be too busy doing everything else, I guess I'll just be too worn out to be in the mood to play. Too bad. Ja ne." Nanjiro let out a fake yawn as he stretched his arms up above his head. He closed his eyes, but then opened one so he could see his son's reaction.

Ryoma's eyes opened a little wider. He knew what his dad was trying to do, but he just couldn't miss any opportunity to shut that old man down on the court. His clenched fist shook as he gave his father the nod.

The smile on Nanjiro's face widened. This was going to be so easy.

* * *

**Trasnlations:**

**Hazukashii na!: **how embarrassing  
**Ohayou Gozaimasu Neko-chan:** good morning kitty  
**Gomen nasai Neko-chan: **I'm sorry, kitty  
**Nanako Onee-san:** Big sister Nanako (loose translation)  
**Ja ne:** later


	4. Chapter 4

**The Guest****  
Chapter 4**

Yesssss!!! I actually finished this chapter. I've had the worst case of writer's block for this story and my other PoT fanfic: The Last Rose. I'm having a tough time with them for some reason. Maybe I'm too bogged down with details (I'm a detail fiend)! With this chapter though, I'm pretty vague and just went with what came to mind, so I hope you don't mind too much. I hope you like it!!

_Italics _denotes thought

* * *

_sigh..._

What did she get roped into this time. If there was a moment where souls could groan the loudest, today would be the day. Maybe if her soul groaned loud enough, God would hear it and send a miracle her way. But, for now, all Sakuno could do was sigh inwardly.

She stood in the foyer, waiting for Ryoma to come back downstairs and put his shoes on. _There could be a silver lining in this, _she thought as she watched Karupin weave his body in between her legs, a motion that he seemed to be fond of ever since she came to stay. _At least I got my wish to go outside. _But it wasn't what or how she had planned it. That monk, no, Ryoma's father, had suggested that she went with Ryoma on his errands to make sure that he completed them all, or so he said.

"My son can't be trusted, so could you, Sakuno-chan, join him to make sure he goes to the right places?"

"How could I say no?" she mumbled as she nervously tapped her foot on the floor. She was going to be the little tagalong. It was almost similar to the time that her Grandmother asked Ryoma to take her to get her racket restrung. Just a little tagalong. And he made her cry. And she ran away. But, he did find her, offer her a Ponta, and then helped her with her tennis. So it wasn't really all that bad. _Maybe today won't be that bad. _

"Are you ready?"

Ryoma's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She quickly nodded her head and kept it down so Ryoma couldn't see her blushing. Oblivious to his errand partner, Ryoma opened the door, called out a farewell, and then headed out on to the sidewalk.

* * *

It seemed like a beautiful day earlier in the morning, but the sun was allowed to linger a little longer in a clear blue sky, turning the entire outdoors into a gigantic furnace. It was just plain hot. The few people who dared to brave the conditions moved in slow motion trying to expend as little energy as possible. The birds and the squirrels were nowhere to be found. Only the symphonic chirps of the cicadas could be heard.

Eiji wiped the sweat from his brow as he looked at his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time. This was the first time that Oishii was late for anything. They had planned to meet in front of the music store at 12:30. It was already 12:45 and Eiji was afraid that he would melt right then and there if he had to wait in the heat any longer. Just as soon as he was about to give up, Oishii flew from around the corner.

"Wah, Oishii, hidoi yo!!! It's sooooo hot and I've been waiting soooo long!!!!"

Oishii bent over with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. Even though it was sweltering, he ran all the way from the bus stop to the music store to try to make it on time. He finally stood up and took a deep breath.

"Gomen nasai Eiji. My father needed me to help him out this morning and it took longer than I had anticipated."

Eiji sniffed and kicked an invisible rock, trying to look as dejected as he could.

"You could have at least called."

"Gomen." Oishii said once more, knowing that Eiji was just being his normal dramatic self. "Saa, let's go ahead and go in the store before we turn into pools of sweat."

At that request, Eiji immediately perked up and bounded through the door. Oishii just smiled at his friend and doubles partner. Eiji was loud, moody, and unpredictable, but at least he was easy to please. As Oishii walked through the door, something caught his eye and he stopped and looked through the glass. He shrugged his shoulders since the image was gone; although it did look like two braids going around the corner.

* * *

"A…ano, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked almost in a whisper.

"Mmmm?"

"Isn't that one of the shops that your father wanted you to stop at?"

"We'll get that one later."

That was the only words that were spoken between the two since they left the house an hour ago. There really wasn't much to talk about. At least for Sakuno. Last night's mishap was still on her mind. She couldn't understand why it was so hard for her to let go. It wasn't as if he had seen her without…well, that was the ONE thing she didn't want to think about. The only thing that kept the incident off her mind was the task that was at hand.

As they continued down the street, she tried to repeat the list over and over in her head. It wasn't a very hard list and the tasks weren't too difficult as well. There was one task that Ryoma's father had to whisper in Ryoma's ear. Sakuno couldn't even begin to guess what that last task was, but it sure did make Ryoma mad when he found out what he had to do.

There was one other thing that bothered her though. Ryoma wasn't even going to do anything for his father until he mentioned playing tennis. _Is he truly only driven by tennis?_ She thought as she stared at the back of his head.

"Are you coming?"

Sakuno didn't realize that she had completely stopped while she was thinking about Ryoma and his father. She let out a breathy apology as she hurried to catch up to him. Sakuno shook her head to get all thoughts except for the errand list out of her head. If she continued to daydream and let her thoughts wander, it would take them forever to finish all the errands and Ryoma wouldn't get to play tennis. As they rounded the corner, Sakuno thought that she had recognized someone walking into the music store that they were going to go into later. But to catch up with Ryoma, she couldn't stop to get a good look.

"We need to go into this store."

"Ah, hai."

Just like a little puppy, Sakuno followed Ryoma through the open door. A little jingle signaled their entrance and an old gentle face appeared from behind the cluttered counter to greet them with a toothless smile. Sakuno looked around and was taken by surprise at the type of store they were in. It was poorly lit, even with the sun shining brightly through the store's picture window. She could make out dried flowers and other things hanging from corners of each shelf and certain areas of the ceiling. Jars and jars of some kind of liquids or powders were lined up behind the counter. The only thing that stood in the middle of the store was a small table with candles on top, some pillows placed around it and a small bowl of dried flowers and leaves. Although it looked dismal, the entire store was filled with pleasant aromas that seemed to put Sakuno at ease.

_What a strange store. What a strange store to send a son to._

"Yookoso!!" an aged voice came from the old woman behind the counter.

"Obaaba. Oyaji needs the usual."

"So, he sent you here again did he? What a bonehead. Your father hasn't changed, Ryoma-chan. He hasn't changed a bit. I'll give him his usual, but it's gonna be a while before he can get some more. And you tell him he needs to come for this himself, the lazy, no good…" The old woman continued to nag as she walked through the beaded curtain into the back where her murmurings couldn't be heard any longer.

"Ryoma-kun, what is this place?" Sakuno asked with a hushed voice as if the woman would magically appear in front of them if she spoke any louder. Everything was so strange. She had never been inside any store like this. She didn't even know that a place liked this ever existed.

"Apothecary."

_Eh?! _Sakuno just nodded her head. She really didn't understand and she had never even heard that word before. But whatever it was and whatever it meant, she wanted to stay a little bit longer. It felt so relaxing and so peaceful. That peace was soon broken as the shopkeeper returned from the back.

"…and you tell him that he's supposed to use this sparingly. The idiot is probably using way too much and that's why he needs more now. I just gave him that supply two months ago. Who does he think I am? His own personal assistant that he can call on whenever he feels like it? Don't you grow up to be like him, Ryoma-chan, you hear me?"

Ryoma looked dully at the older woman and said "I'm not like that man."

"And it's a good thing you're not!! Or I would have kicked you out of my store for such a stupid request. It's only because of your cute little girlfriend that I'm actually doing any of this. What's your name child?"

Sakuno's head shot up and immediately flushed pink. "Uh…ano…ano…" She stammered trying to get the words out; but Ryoma got to it before she did.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Not your girlfriend? That's a shame." The woman pouted as she adjusted her glasses and squinted as to get a better look. "Come here child, let me look at you."

Sakuno stood still as if she was frozen. She had no idea who this woman was, and she was a little frightened. But as the woman continued to wave her over, a sense of guilt poured over her. Her parents and her grandmother had always taught her to be respectful to her elders, no matter how creepy they were.

Inch by inch, Sakuno moved closer to the old shopkeeper who seemed to waggle her wrinkled fingers in the air greedily, reaching out for the poor, scared 12-year old. "Now, let's see what we have here. Nice skin, shiny hair long braided hair, smells pleasant, tiny frame, nice hips for childbearing…hm hm hm."

Sakuno's face remained red as the old woman continued on and on about her. She felt like an item that someone was trying to sell. The woman's babbled on and Sakuno snuck a glance at Ryoma. He was still standing in the same spot with a look of complete boredom on his face.

"You sure she's not your girlfriend?" the old woman asked once more. "Well, it's a good thing that you're not. The Echizen family can cause a lot of trouble for a pretty little one like you. Rinko-chan went away to America, then came back married to a bumbling buffoon. Such a sweet girl, just like you. Here, I'll give you this. You sprinkle this under your pillow at night and put a dab behind your ears when you wake up and you will be able to get any boy your heart desires. Make sure he has a good head on his shoulders."

"Domo arigato gozaimasu." Sakuno bowed as she held the little vial in her hands. She wasn't really sure what it was that she was given, but it would have been very rude if she had not taken it, no matter how embarrassed she felt.

"We'll be going now." Ryoma said as he grabbed the little package off the counter and walked towards the door. The tiny bells jingled announcing their exit just as it did their entrance. Sakuno turned and gave another small bow before following Ryoma out into the streets. Just as the door closed a figure emerged from the back.

"Obaasama, it's finished."

"Ah, Kaoru-chan. Take a break and have some tea with me. You know, I just saw the cutest little girl, she's probably around your age. You should have a girl like that: nice skin, shiny long braided hair, smelled pleasant, a tiny frame, and nice hips for childbearing. When are you going to find a girl like that?"

"Ssssssss." Kaido just blushed as he listened to his grandmother chatter on.

"Oh, Kaoru-chan, could you put away this away for me. It's the list for one of our customers."

Kaido grabbed the paper to put in the tiny file cabinet by the door. He made his way through the cramped maze of boxes and bottles that lined the walls. He shuffled through the files until he found the one he was looking for.

"Eh?" he looked at the file, then looked at the name. "Echizen?"

* * *

Translations:

"**hidoi yo!!":** "that's mean" Eiji is telling Oishii that it was mean of Oishii to be late and make him wait in the hot sun.  
"**gomen nasai": **"I'm sorry"  
"**yookoso": **welcome (this is normally what shopkeepers and clerks say as you walk in a store. Sometimes they say "Irrashaimasu")  
"**obaaba": **either grandmother or old woman (used derogatorily if meaning old woman—I'm sure you can guess which context Ryoma is using it in)  
"**oyaji":** another way of saying "dad" in male speech (can be heard in Initial D and other animes with less than standard and normal fathers)  
"**domo arigato gozaimasu": **a very polite way of saying "thank you very much".

TAA-DAAAAH!! I apologize for this story being soooo random, but, like I said, I was just writing what came to my mind. I'm just happy that I actually got enough to put down as a chapter. This'll be that one random chapter that everyone has.

I used the word **apothecary **for the store that Ryoma and Sakuno go into. It kinda doesn't fit, but I figured that Ryoma would use a word that Sakuno wouldn't understand. Especially if she had never been in a store like that before. It's a mix between an aromatherapy store and a Chinese drug store I used to go to and buy ginseng shots (little vials of liquid ginseng that you pop open and drink for a burst of natural energy). Whatever Nanjiro needs from there…well, I'll leave that to your imagination (ke ke ke ke).


End file.
